Some links for Saturday evening as the cold weather makes its way back to the Northeast..
- Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that the team will "spend the money necessary to sign the players that are the best players out there when our turn comes," referring to the draft. The D'Backs hold two of the first seven picks after failing to sign sixth overall pick Barret Loux last year.
- Before landing with the Athletics on a minor league contract, Andy LaRoche drew interest from the Red Sox and Indians according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Astros outfielder Hunter Pence tweeted that he found the arbitration process to be fascinating but is glad to have it in the rear view mirror. Earlier today, Pence won his arb case, meaning that he'll earn $6.9MM in 2011.
- The Diamondbacks' 2011 payroll should be in the low $60MM range, managing partner Ken Kendrick told Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (via Twitter).
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels doesn't sound too upset about the status of his relationship with Michael Young in this tweet from Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram.
- White Sox slugger Adam Dunn is ready to embrace his new role in Chicago, writes Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Former Yankees prospect Zach McAllister is looking forward to a new start with the Indians, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
Indians won that trade big time. Austin Kearns SUCKED as a Yankee. I know they didn’t make it to the WS or win anything, but I’d say the Yankees won the Kerry Wood trade though.
Best of luck to Zack though (and Kerry back in Chicago for that matter). Hope Kearns struggles lol
The Yanks should never have made the move, if Mac doesn’t ever throw a big-league pitch, Cleveland still wins. Cause that just means that that neither player was worth the bus ticket to their new locations, but at least the Wahoos took an educated shot with a potentially high return. I hope McAllister gets his feet back underneath him. The Indians are a team that can definitely appreciate a young inning-eating horse, but he has to get the ball back down. Seeing his GO/AO rates go from 1.48, to 1.07, to .79 over three years is not a good sign. If 2010 was a hiccup, huge gain for Cleveland.
can anyone tell me what the draft class looks like for this year?
One of the best in recent memory. Lots of high end talent.
Tons of talent. The Rays will be finding a LOT of good prospects this year.
I’m about as down and sad about the Indians as I’ve ever been. I follow them from afar and am distressed to read that a team that was one of the worst in the majors pretty much has it’s roster set and it’s pitching rotation selected. So it doesn’t matter if someone really shines, takes the next step or actually breaks through in spring training-or if someone totally stinks up the joint in spring training. They keep their spot. Why bother to bring all these players into camp asking them to compete for non existent spots on the team? I understand development of players takes time, but you also have to take some risks to gain rewards-and if you are unwilling to take risks with your OWN players, why are they even in your organization?
Jon Daniels on relationship with #Rangers Young: “I’d love to walk in and hug everybody every day, but that’s not critical to us winning.”
OWNED. In other words, shut up and stop your crying. You’re overpaid, and NOBODY wants you. The Jays were able to shed Vernon Wells contract without paying a cent (which is considered the worst contract in baseball) yet nobody will even talk about Michael Young without the Rangers eating at least several million. That should give him a reality check.